A system may include first and second qubits that cross one another and a first coupler having a perimeter that encompasses at least a part of the portions of the first and second qubits, the first coupler being operable to ferromagnetically or anti-ferromagnetically couple the first and the second qubits together. A multi-layered computer chip may include a first plurality N of qubits laid out in a first metal layer, a second plurality M of qubits laid out at least partially in a second metal layer that cross each of the qubits of the first plurality of qubits, and a first plurality N times M of coupling devices that at least partially encompasses an area where a respective pair of the qubits from the first and the second plurality of qubits cross each other.

A method is provided of forming a superconductor device interconnect structure. The method includes forming a first dielectric layer overlying a substrate, and forming a base electrode in the first dielectric layer with the base electrode having a top surface aligned with the top surface of the first dielectric layer. The method further comprises forming a Josephson junction (JJ) over the base electrode, depositing a second dielectric layer over the JJ, the base electrode and the first dielectric layer, and forming a first contact through the second dielectric layer to the base electrode to electrically couple the first contact to a first end of the JJ, and a second contact through the second dielectric layer to a second end of the JJ.

According to various implementations of the invention, high quality a-axis XBCO may be grown with low surface roughness. According to various implementations of the invention, low surface roughness may be obtained by: 1) adequate substrate preparation; 2) calibration of flux rates for constituent atoms; and/or 3) appropriate control of temperature during crystal growth. According to various implementations of the invention, a wafer comprises a smoothing layer of c-axis XBCO; a first conducting layer of a-axis XBCO formed on the smoothing layer; an insulating layer formed on the first conducting layer; and a second conducting layer of a-axis XBCO formed on the insulating layer, where, for a same surface roughness, a thickness of the smoothing layer and the first conducting layer combined is greater than a thickness of the first conducting layer without the smoothing layer.

A tunable quantum qubit circuit comprising: a plurality of interconnected Josephson tunneling junctions sculpted in-situ on-chip, wherein each Josephson tunneling junction comprises a pair of high temperature superconductors separated by an active region having a controlled charge density; a capacitive-coupled control gate operatively coupled to the Josephson tunneling junctions and configured to simultaneously modulate energy levels of the Josephson tunneling junctions; and independent control gates operatively coupled to the Josephson tunneling junctions, wherein the independent control gates are reconfigurable on-the-fly by an operator.

Superconducting integrated circuits require several wiring layers to distribute bias and signals across the circuit, which must cross each other both with and without contacts. All wiring lines and contacts must be fully superconducting, and in the prior art each wiring layer comprises a single metallic thin film. An alternative wiring layer is disclosed that comprises sequential layers of two or more different metals. Such a multi-metallic wiring layer may offer improved resistance to impurity diffusion, better surface passivation, and/or reduction of stress, beyond that which is attainable with a single-metallic wiring layer. The resulting process leads to improved margin and yield in an integrated circuit comprising a plurality of Josephson junctions. Several preferred embodiments are disclosed, for both planarized and non-planarized processes. These preferred and other methods may be applied to digital circuits based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum logic, and to quantum computing using Josephson junction qubits.

A method for increasing the integration level of superconducting electronic circuits, comprising fabricating a series of planarized electrically conductive layers patterned into wiring, separated by planarized insulating layers, with vias communicating between the conductive layers. Contrary to the standard sequence of patterning from the bottom up, the pattern of vias in at least one insulating layer is formed prior to the pattern of wiring in the underlying conductive layer. This enables a reduction in the number of planarization steps, leading to a fabrication process which is faster and more reliable. In a preferred embodiment, the superconductor is niobium and the insulator is silicon dioxide. This method can provide 10 or more wiring layers in a complex integrated circuit, and is compatible with non-planarized circuits placed above the planarized wiring layers.

A capacitively-driven tunable coupler includes a coupling capacitor connecting an open end of a quantum object (i.e., an end of the object that cannot have a DC path to a low-voltage rail, such as a ground node, without breaking the functionality of the object) to an RF SQUID having a Josephson element capable of providing variable inductance and therefore variable coupling to another quantum object.

A quantum system includes a qubit array comprising a plurality of qubits. A bus resonator is coupled between at least one pair of qubits in the qubit array. A switch is coupled between the at least one qubit pair of qubits.

An electronic device includes a pair of depletion gates, an accumulation gate, and a conductive resonator. The depletion gates are spaced apart from each other. The accumulation gate is over the depletion gates. The conductive resonator is over the depletion gates and the accumulation gate. The conductive resonator includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion and the second portion are on opposite sides of the accumulation gate. The third portion interconnects the first and second portions of the conductive resonator and across the depletion gates. A bottom surface of the first portion of the conductive resonator is lower than a bottom surface of the accumulation gate.

Techniques regarding lithographic processes for fabricating Josephson junctions are provided. For example, one or more embodiments described herein can comprise a method that can include depositing a first resist layer onto a second resist layer. The first resist layer can include a bridge portion that defines an opening for forming a Josephson junction. The method can also comprise depositing a third resist layer onto the bridge portion. The third resist layer can shield the opening from an angled deposition of a superconducting material during fabrication of the Josephson junction.